Water fountain dilemma!

[Katy52]

I’ve just adopted a nosey be that has been raised in all the wrong conditions for the past 2.5 years - including a cat water fountain!

This has been his source of drinking water for the duration of his life and now I need to ween him off it... any tips or ideas?

I have a mister and dripper set up, do you think he will instinctively know to drink from the plants?

Should I ween him off the water fountain slowly or take it away cold turkey?!

I hate the idea of the little guy dehydrating! Thank you in advance for any help

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. I would get rid of the fountain and see how he does with misting and dripper. Do keep in mind that many chameleons are secret about drinking, so you may not see him drink. Go by what his urates look like to determine hydration. White or mostly white with a little touch of yellow at one end is fine. Orange or all dark is dehydration.

 

[Chase]

^exactly right.

Another thing to consider is if given the opportunity, a captive animal will not allow itself to go hungry or thirsty (unless sick). I’d remove it cold turkey and just make sure you’re giving ample spray sessions and a dripper (as needed).

Chase

 

[jamest0o0]

Hi. I would get rid of the fountain and see how he does with misting and dripper. Do keep in mind that many chameleons are secret about drinking, so you may not see him drink. Go by what his urates look like to determine hydration. White or mostly white with a little touch of yellow at one end is fine. Orange or all dark is dehydration.

Agreed, one thing to note is that orange is fine as long as the end of it is chalky white. We see a lot of people freak out because there's orange or yellow as part of the urate, but that just means the chameleon hasn't pooped in a while. Usually happens with adults.

IDT chameleons easily become dehydrated, they seem pretty good at retaining water. To me, it's concerning when a cham runs up to drink water immediately. Newbies seem happy about this, but it's usually accompanied by poor husbandry and/or illness.